


Material

by Frechisia



Series: Dark Shiro Week 2017 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Day 2, Identity/Memories, Kuro Week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-12 02:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11152065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frechisia/pseuds/Frechisia
Summary: Kuro doesn't know who he is, but he knows what he wants to be.





	Material

"Who are you?"

He asks himself that question everyday. He wants to say Champion, though he never fought in the ring. He wants to say Takashi Shirogane, but that wasn't the name he was given. He wants to say the Black Paladin, but the role is obviously filled by his lookalike. 

"You tell me," he says instead. "You're the one who made me in the first place."

Shiro makes a face like a cross between confusion and fear. It's moments when he sees weakness in his 'brother' that makes him laugh at ever trying to live up to his name. Such an emotionally weak man and yet managed to be so valuable to the Galra Empire that they cloned him.

They made improvements of course. More strength, agility, as well as less of those morals that kept Shiro from being under control for so long. He should be superior in every way, and yet…

Shiro's the Black Paladin.

Shiro receives affection from his teammates.

Shiro is who the Galra wants.

It isn't fair. His life is only an extension of the one in front of him. No matter how hard he tries, this simple human will still be held in higher regard. He should hate him for it, but strangely enough, he… admires him. He admires his strength, the calm, the leadership Kuro could never have.

He attacks first. It was his mission after all and he has to complete it. The battle that ensues is delirious. Shiro only ever went all out on one other person, and that ended with Zarkon dead. The punches and hits aren't meant to take down, they're meant to kill. He tries to believe that any kind of hurt he feels are from the blows.

Shiro slips a leg under his and he falls, but not before he grabs Shiro's neck and takes him down with him. Soon they're grappling on the ground until Kuro is on top and they both have a weaponized hand at the other's throat. It's a stalemate. Neither can make a move, and they just lay there staring at the other, tension building like the high before the crash. 

"You never fought like this in the ring. Not against the Gladiator, or Galtaak."

Those steel-grey eyes widen in surprise. "You-you know what happened to me. While I was prisoner."

He wants to say ' _you weren't always a prisoner._ ' However, he has a feeling that the information would not go over well. "Of course I do. I'm you. I have your body, your DNA, and most importantly… your memories." 

Shiro freezes. For the first time, he actually looks a bit less strong and a bit more vulnerable. It was like he got the first part of a password to a safe. Kuro grins as he realizes what he can do.

"Yes, I have your memories. And you can have them. On one condition."

What he is about to do is risky. He remembers a piece of Haggar's explanation of his existence, how, yes, him and Shiro were similar but very different. Two products made from the same material. Only difference is that Kuro has more quintessence in his body. More energy, less humanity. It won't be that hard to make himself into something else. 

"Let me be you."

He takes his fleshed hand and intertwines it with Shiro's. They don't take their eyes off the other, so much so that Kuro can see yellow reflected in the grey. "Use our memories. Find weaknesses in the Empire. Find out all their plans, their secrets… _our_ secrets." He can see Shiro considering it but still reluctant. "Find out information to save your team. You can use me to help defend the universe. Just, let me be you. Let me be the person I was made to be."

Shiro closes his eyes and nods. They both lower their arms from the other's necks. Kuro intertwines both their hands, robotic and real. He lays his forehead onto Shiro's and takes a deep breath. Then, he lets go of his existence.

He can't tell how much time passes. It could be ticks to millennia. Everything is so dark, that he can't even call it black, it's just _nothing._ Then, there's flashes. Purple lights, blue skies, clawed handshakes and soft hugs. He feels the weight of chains just as he feels the freedom of the air. It's an amalgam of _perfection, flaw, horror, delight, beauty, scars, friendships, enemies, family, comrades,_ and so much more. So much love and pain that collide together it's both fantastic and tragic. This, all of this, is him. Whoever he was.

He opens his eyes. Then he screams.

**Author's Note:**

> Will they be okay? How will they deal with becoming one person? Will I actually continue to write this? Who knows! Thanks for reading!


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